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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26682568">Aftermath</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldenspecter/pseuds/goldenspecter'>goldenspecter</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aftermath of Torture, Angst, Autistic Donnie, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Insecurity, Kidnapping, and his family loves him too, and they wont hesitate to beat up baron draxum, fuck it all the turtles are autistic, i just love raphael</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 03:20:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,728</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26682568</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldenspecter/pseuds/goldenspecter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Raphie bear?” Mikey called out, gently tapping Raph, with relief washing him when Raph turned his head to face him. “What’s the matter teddy bear?”</p><p>“Th-thi-this doesn’t feel real.” Raph stuttered out, his voice cracking as a sob broke through. “I’m not really here. Neither are you and everyone else. I’m still alone with Draxum and his minions. No one’s coming to save me because I was stupid enough to get captured and no one wants such a worthless turtle like me.”</p><p>In which Raph was kidnapped and tortured by Baron Draxum and his family has to deal with the aftermath of it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Donatello &amp; Leonardo &amp; Michelangelo &amp; April O'Neil &amp; Raphael (TMNT), Donatello &amp; Leonardo &amp; Michelangelo &amp; Raphael &amp; Splinter (TMNT), Donatello &amp; Leonardo &amp; Michelangelo &amp; Raphael (TMNT)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>56</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Aftermath</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So I originally wrote this for that big TMNT discord secret santa back in 2018 when I first entered the fandom. It's been sitting in my Google docs for two years now, so I decided to brush this off, polish up some minor errors and decided to post it as my first public foray into the fandom(even though I've been apart of it for since nearly the beginning but now I'm actually going to try and create content for this fandom). </p><p>I've binged watched most, if not all of the series. Saw the series finale and I feel empty inside(even though I have some episodes that I accidentally skipped over!) so now I have to fix that with writing some fanfiction, after consuming so much ROTTMNT fic within two to three days. I'm thinking about writing a fic where the Rise kiddies meet 2k12 kiddoes. I shouldn't since I'm in my senior year of college and I have so many papers to write but we'll see. </p><p>This fic was supposed to be taking place within an AU in which Raph was kidnapped by Draxum and was tortured by him. This part was the aftermath since I didn't have a lot of time to write a heap ton of emotional h/c and angst when I signed up for the secret Santa back in 2018. So maybe if people really want that, then I might write a few parts and flesh out some ideas I had within that AU!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Baron Draxum was an awful…<em>being.</em></p><p>April O’Neil could attest to this when she first met him. She won’t be able to unsee Draxum drag an innocent, hapless teenager whose only sin was being in the wrong place at the wrong time and shove phosphorescent green ooze down his throat. she couldn’t turn away from hearing a desperate, ear-splitting scream rip from the boy’s throat and watched him as he fell to his knees in a shoddy attempt to escape the pain coursing through his veins, as his back arched in pain as new appendages attached grew out of him, and was blinded by a cosmic ray of neon green and then it faded away.</p><p>He looked at his hands (grey, scaly fins) and screamed a second later as he wailed in loss of his humanity.</p><p>April O’Neil did as well because he was a teenager just like her: worked a low paying job to sleazy, cheap, apathetic managers who never bothered sparing an ounce of empathy to kids like her who tried to provide for their families.</p><p>Watching another kindred soul like hers go through a horridly grotesque mutation made April realize her humanity was fleeting, that she could be her, worrying about being hunted down by government officials instead of her panicking over acne, bills, and her rapidly declining popularity.</p><p>So Baron Draxum? An absolute shit being. The worst thing to have ever existed.</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
There no words in the English language or any language to describe how much April O’Neil wants to <em>kill</em> Baron Draxum.</p><p>Her younger turtle brother raises his head and looked at her, looked in her with those wide green eyes of his, a large green hand weakly hovering over April’s before she felt a tight squeeze.</p><p>“April?”</p><p>“Yea Raph?”</p><p>“Do you think things…will ever be back to the way it used to be?” He asked, tears brimming at the corner of his eyes. “I want it to be like before.”</p><p>She stared at him, reaching a hand out to brush away the tears staining Raph’s mask, desperately wanting to tell him that everything would be fine but logically April knows that this isn’t the case. Quietly she cradled his face to her shoulder and said, “Things will change, but hopefully for the better.”</p><p>Raphael broke, buried his large frame in April’s seeking the security he had been robbed of, sobbed quietly(something she knows he learned from Draxum), and April could feel his tears drip on her shoulder.</p>
<hr/><p>Donatello had been in his lab when his older brother had been ushered in, unaware of how awful Raphael looked but he gets his first dose of it when his other two brothers, April and Splinter struggle to carry Raphael’s unconscious form. His dad urges him to clear his lab table. The four gently laid Raph on the table, Splinter ushering him, Leon, Mikey, and April out of the room despite their vehement protests of being able to help.</p><p>Splinter, after finally pushing the four out of the room, looked up at them with a stony, dangerous glare. “Do not step foot into this room until I say you can.” He ordered caustically before stepping inside Donnie’s lab and slammed the door shut with a tense finality.</p><p>It was at that moment that Dontalleo was <em>truly</em> afraid of his father and it was a feeling he never wanted to pool in his stomach ever again.</p><p>He turned around to face his siblings, confusion painted on his face as he pointed towards his now locked and forbidden sanctuary, “What the hell happened to Raph?” he asked hoarsely</p><p>Leon, his idiot meme of a brother attempted to smile and make a meme of this situation but his half-smile twitched before it fell. Leon slumped down to the ground in a pained squat before he whispered, “We found him, Donatello. After so long, we found him.”</p><p>“But what happened to him?” Donnie gritted out, frustration from not knowing <em>anything,</em> “He couldn’t have-“</p><p>“Baron Draxum had him.” Mikey finally said, not looking at Donnie, “We found him at the place where we first fought him and we brought him home. The bastard wasn’t there so it was easier to bring him home.”</p><p>Donnie’s confusion mutates into hideous outrage, why didn’t his brothers and April call him the moment they found Raph? Didn’t they understand Raph was his brother as well? He was just as heartbroken as they were when Raph disappeared, why didn’t they let him know that-</p><p>“Purple, I need your help,” Father called out, and Donatello schooled his growing rage into a perfect mask of neutrality<br/>
 <br/>
Donatello left the three teens behind to go assist his father who warned him softly, </p><p>"Let your rage go, it will not help Raph at this moment." The fourteen-year-old did as he was instructed and stepped inside of the lab, walked towards the table where Raph was.</p><p>He doesn't joke about heartbreak but Donatello Hamato swore that he heard his heart break at the sight of Raphael.</p><p>Maybe this is why the others didn't tell them about Raph until now, because he always crumbled when it came to his favorite brother.</p><p>Father patted his knee empathically before they quietly started working on Raph’s injuries. Donnie treats his brother’s wounds like he does his work: carefully and methodically with the utmost care. Needles weave in and out of bloodied wounds as they sutured and stitched Raph’s most extensive wounds close, and Donatello realized just how <em>fucked</em> up it was for him to treat his brother with the same callousness he had for his machines.</p><p>The thought alone made a tear roll down his face.</p><p>He’s also thankful his father didn’t mention it.</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
Leonardo was very well aware that he’s the reason that Raph is suffering.</p><p>He knew that Raph’s hero complex for wanting to keep people he’s never met safe made his older brother go out when everyone else was asleep to hunt down those oozosquitoes.</p><p>Raphael might not have been the brightest turtle, but he was the turtle with the biggest heart(aside from Michealangleo) so of course, he would have to go out to hunt down those oozesquitos after he threw the entire well being of New York City out the window to save his stupid brother. He should have known that Raph would have done that because his ever-growing hero complex yelled at him to save everyone and <em>everything</em> no matter how horrible they’ve been to Raph. </p><p>Perhaps, none of this would happen if Leo told Raph to save New York before saving him. If Lord Draxum threw him off the building without allowing Raph anyway to rescue him. Leon was not worth the misery that Raph was going through, he wasn’t worth the soft grins and the teddy bear hugs that Raph was so capable of, he wasn’t worth shit. </p><p>Hopefully, Raph can see it now. Leo just wished it hadn’t been at the expense of Raph’s well being. </p><p>Leo looked over to Raph’s sleeping form tightly hugging his army of stuffed animals, refusing to let anything pull them away from him. He stood up over his older brother before summoning his favorite stuffed animal, positioning it between Raph’s arms. “There, now you have someone who’s better suited at keeping you safe than screw up Leo.”</p><p>With a pained, resigned sigh, Leo walked towards Raph’s door. Right before he’s stepped out the older turtle’s room, he looked over his shoulder, “I’m sorry Raph. I hope you can forgive me.” He muttered, disgusted with himself that he’s asking for forgiveness. </p><p>Aware that he is unworthy of forgiveness, Leo stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him with a soft thud.</p>
<hr/><p>Mikey isn’t as clueless as everyone thinks he is.</p><p>Raph should have known as well. Maybe if he had someone with him, he wouldn’t have been gone for so long and came back so bent beyond repair.  However, that was then, this is now, where he’s currently helping Raph bake some cookies as a way to relieve some of the pent up stress the eldest and youngest turtles had bubbling in their systems. </p><p>So far the two have a fairly decent system. Raph mixes the necessary ingredients while Mikey poured the prepared mix on the tray and placed them in the oven. Mikey’s music is softly being blasted throughout the kitchen, Mikey energetically dancing through the soul-thumping lofi beats.</p><p>And that’s the moment when everything goes to shit. </p><p>Mikey set another tray of cookies inside the oven, having counted six trays already in the oven. Why were they baking six trays of cookies? Who knew, certainly not Mikey. He stood up and stretched, turned around expecting another more cookie dough mix ready, but only saw Raph standing there, his older brother’s broad shoulders shaking. </p><p>“Raphie bear?” Mikey called out, gently tapping Raph, with relief washing him when Raph turned his head to face him. “What’s the matter teddy bear?”</p><p>“Th-thi-this doesn’t feel real.” Raph stuttered out, his voice cracking as a sob broke through. “I’m not really here. Neither are you and everyone else. I’m still alone with Draxum and his minions. No one’s coming to save me because I was stupid enough to get captured and no one wants such a worthless turtle like me.”</p><p>“Oi,” Mikey snapped playfully, cleverly hiding his infinitely growing rage towards Draxum, “I don’t take kindly to you talking about yourself like that.”</p><p>“But I’m only speaking the truth.” Raph protested, “You aren’t real, the real Mikey wouldn’t say that.”</p><p>“Oh but he would, Raphiekins.” Mikey cooed. “The real Mikey would also make sure that you know that this is all so very real. Donatello would run the numbers just to make sure none of us are in a simulation, Leo and April would do their best to tell you this is all real. He also tell you that Baron Draxum is wrong for everything he’s ever told you and that that stinky reject John Cena will never get his hands on you ever again.” Wrapping his arms around Raph’s torso, Mikey used his strength to pull him down to eye level and wrapped him in the tightest hug Mikey could muster. </p><p>“I’ll make sure that you understand that all of this is real,” Mikey promised, squeezing the red turtle tighter in this soul-warming hug. “Starting with this.”</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey! Toss a comment to your writer!! Also please befriend me, I need more ROTTMNT friends ;-;</p></blockquote></div></div>
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